I will change the story of ‘hard to reach’ Bradatornu community – DCE pledges

The District Chief Executive for North Dayi, Kudjo Attah has indicated his strongest commitment to developing Bradatornu, a deprived settlement within the district, located down the Volta Lake.

The fishing community with over 500 settlers are people who have moved from Sokpe, Tefle, Dabala, Vume and Bator to settle around the Lake since 1962 but according to the residents, they have been neglected by successive governments for over five decades without a sight of a single development project.

Speaking to journalists on an adventurous tour to the village on Sunday, May 10 the DCE, Kudjoh Attah noted that the District Assembly under his leadership would focus attention on providing basic infrastructure for the residents, while adding that, “we have already begun that with the first project, which is a modern six-unit classroom block.”

He indicated that “I knew about the plights of the people of Bradatornu years before I became a DCE. It is for this reason that I quickly rushed here to build the six-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities for them to mitigate their educational challenges,” he indicated.

Before the building of the facility, pupils in the village have had to sit under trees and improvised structures to study, while those at the JHS level walk for about two hours to Botoku, the closest community to continue with their education.

Challenges of Bradatornu

The village currently is without any road network except for a footpath through the rocky, sloppy mountains of Botoku; a situation the residents say prevents them from accessing healthcare even when it matters.

A resident told journalists that, “we don’t have any health post here and so, we are forced to walk for about 4 miles to Botoku for healthcare but the nature of the footpath makes that extremely difficult.

It becomes more excruciating when we are pregnant, you can imagine the pain we have to endure climbing the mountains to Botoku.”

Bradatornu residents are totally cut off from the entire Ghanaian community as they’re unable to make any phone call as a result of a poor network condition.

The village folks lament they have well been exploited over the years by politicians who only turn up for votes during elections and then forget them thereafter.

Though there is no electricity in the village. Residents say they’re able to listen to happenings in the country through radio sets.

On the issue of health, the DCE said the District Assembly is putting up a comprehensive plan aimed at addressing the issue of the road network with the main objective of facilitating access to health facilities at Anfoega, Botoku and Wusuta.

“What has actually hindered the development of Bradatornu is the issue of inaccessibility; in fact, having to build a structure for the school, we had to cart the materials across the Volta Lake, which takes hours and a significant cost to reach here and so, it is a very difficult situation,” he noted.

He, however, stated that “in view of addressing this challenge, the District Assembly is working on a comprehensive plan that would create a motorable access route through Wusuta down to the community. That would not be easy, but it will definitely enable the residents easily access Wusuta and Anfoega especially when they need healthcare service.”